


Have Fun Tonight

by YouSetTheTone



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Bad Neighbors AU, Cat is kind of being an asshole, F/F, Kara lands on time, and Kara gets angry, let's be real they both have issues
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-01
Updated: 2019-08-01
Packaged: 2020-07-08 16:51:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,618
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19872895
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/YouSetTheTone/pseuds/YouSetTheTone
Summary: Kara has a new neighbor and unfortunately for her the walls are very thin.





	Have Fun Tonight

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ughaghost](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ughaghost/gifts).



> Part of the SuperCat Christmas in July 2019
> 
> Prompt: bad neighbor AU
> 
> Strangely, this might have been the most challenging AU I've had to write. I enjoyed writing it though and I hope you enjoy reading it too.
> 
> Kudos and comments are always appreciated!
> 
> Find me on Tumblr @you-set-the-tone

Kara wasn’t a confrontational person. It wasn’t that she didn’t get angry like everyone else, because she did. After all she had more reasons to be angry than most people did. She learned early that she couldn’t afford to get angry and that it was better for her to keep a low profile. Average grades – even though some of the stuff she’d learned in school would have been elementary school level on Krypton, average strength, less than average vision – or so everyone thought. It was safer that way, for her, for Clark, and for the Kents.

To everyone she was just a regular senior at Metropolis University, juggling studies and two jobs to be able to afford the rent of her tiny apartment.

She kept to herself whether it was in school or at work, letting just enough personal information slip that people wouldn’t think it was weird but not enough that they’d discover any inconsistencies and think about poking holes into her story.

The same thing applied for her neighbors. She said hello and even sometimes made small talk when they crossed path but nothing beyond that. She was polite and mindful and expected her neighbors to do the same. Which had mostly been the case up until a few weeks ago when her new neighbor moved in.

Kara didn’t know her name nor did she know what she looked like. She saw her once briefly, a whirlwind of blond hair, as the woman had rushed down the stairs. Yet, she knew already too much of her neighbor’s…private life. Way too much.

“Ugh,” Kara groaned, pulling pillow over her head, knowing full well it wouldn’t do a thing. It was the third time this week and, for the third time this week, Kara cursed her extraterrestrial abilities. Even if she decided to go in the living room, there wasn’t a place in her apartment where she would be able to have some peace and quiet.

This was like someone tapping a pencil against a table or a clock ticking in the background: once you noticed the noise, it was all you could focus on and no matter how good she’d become at tuning things out.

Giving up, she threw her blanket aside and went to her window. Climbing up the fire escape, she easily made her way to the roof – the only place where she could clear her mind as the noise from the traffic below drowning everything else.

She was not a confrontational person, but she’d already unsuccessfully left a note and she knew she would have to say something soon. The roof had a nice view and all but even her old spring mattress was more comfortable.

* * *

Kara was locking up her door when her neighbor stepped outside of her ownapartment, slamming the door on her way out before hurrying down the stairs. This was it – the opportunity to talk to her neighbor that she had been waiting for. Kara quickly followed her down, hoping her neighbor was still here.

“Shit,” she heard as she reached the lobby. “Shit, shit, shit.”

The woman was on the floor trying to gather a pile of scattered pieces of paper that she had undoubtedly dropped in her haste.

“Here,” Kara said, kneeling down to help the woman gather her belonging. She doesn’t pay attention to Kara but Kara, on the other, finally took a good look at her neighbor. Her first thought was that she was beautiful. She quickly shook that off, however, remembering that this was the same woman who had been disturbing her tranquility for the past 3 weeks. “You just moved into 4B right ?” she said, handing the pieces of paper she’d gathered to the woman, who took them and put them back into the folder without even looking up at Kara.

Once they were done gathering everything they both stood up.

“My keys, where are my keys,” her neighbor mumbled searching frantically through her purse.

“They’re in your hand,” Kara said, amused. “I’m Kara by the way. I live in apartment 4A.”

Her neighbor briefly looked up. “Look thanks for the help but and I’m late so I don’t have time for small talk.”

“Oh hum well I won’t take much more of your time. I just wanted to ask you about the noise. It’s been preventing me from sleeping.”

She didn’t exactly want to go into the specific and risk aggravating the woman further.

“Noise ? You must confuse me with someone else I wasn’t having any party last night,” she answered, still rummaging through her purse for the keys that were very much in her hands.

“That’s not…” Kara started but the woman didn’t let her finish.

“There they are,” she said, finally realizing where her keys were all along. “Now Keira like I said I have to go and you and your horrid pink cardigan are preventing me from doing that.”

The woman stepped aside and headed outside without so much as a glance backwards, leaving Kara standing there, dumbstruck by her neighbor’s shitty attitude.

* * *

Today had been one of those where everything that could possibly go wrong actually went wrong. Cat’s alarm clock didn’t go off and she woke up to the shrill sound of her phone ringing. The fact that it was her mother calling made it even worse.

There was nothing quite like a bit of disapproval and disappointment from Katherine Grant to start the day. The message left by her mother, which she listened to as she prepared herself for work as quickly as possible, had really set the tone for the rest of the day.

Perry had been insufferable all day, sending her on the most meaningless errands. Lois was chosen for the assignment Cat was aiming for and while she was glad it wasn’t Robert who got it, she couldn’t help but feel slightly jealous.

With a relieved breath, she reached her floor, ready to settle in for the evening with a cheap bottle of wine and a good book. Eager to get home, she fumbled with the key – it always tended to stick into the lock – making her lose precious seconds of peace.

“Do you need help?”

Startled, Cat turned around to see a woman, probably around her age. She looked familiar she couldn’t quite place her yet.

“I’m fine, thanks.” Of course, the key still didn’t unlock the door and she looked back at the woman, who was looking far too smug. She didn’t know what made her do it, whether tiredness or a desire to wipe the stupid smirl off of the woman’s face, but Cat stepped aside, motion for her to take her place. “Well, go on, try then.”

The woman walked over and Cat could only watch as as she effortlessly turned the key into the lock and opened her door.

“You have to make sure to pull the door towards you when you turn the key, otherwise it sticks.”

“Well, thanks I guess,” she said. They stood in awkward silence for a second, allowing Cat to truly look at the woman helping her. She was wearing dark jeans and a white shirt, covered by…a pink cardigan. “It’s you.”

It might have been a shitty day but she did remember now the woman who had helped her this morning. She also remembered the way she had spoken to her. People might say Cat was a bitch, but she wasn’t absolutely heartless and and wasn’t – at least not always – above apologizing when the situation called for it. Not that she had been wrong, the pink cardigan was still an unfortunate piece of clothing.

“I’m honestly surprised you recognize me seeing as you barely spared me a look while insulting me,” Kara said and fair enough Cat deserved that.

“About that…”

“No look…” she trailed off and Cat realized she was waiting for a name.

“Cat.”

“Look, Cat, I don’t know you and I don’t care what you do in your free time,” Kara said, “What I do care about is getting a good night of sleep which, so far, has been impossible since you moved in. The walls are thin and it happens that you’re loud, so try and keep the damn noise down.”

Kara walked back to her apartment and Cat stared at the empty space she left. No one had talked to her like that since – well Cat couldn’t exactly remember. She should be embarrassed, there was no doubt what Kara had been hinting at – Cat had regularly been bringing guys home However, all she could think about was that for someone who wore cardigans, Kara had a certain fire to her. Something Cat had definitely not expected and she couldn’t help but be a little be intrigued. For professional purpose, of course. After all it was her goal to make a career out of finding stories.

No matter how intrigued she was, Cat had no intention of changing anything. It wasn’t her fault that the walls were thin. Seeing how far she could rile her neighbor was now just an added bonus

(She ignored the tiny little voice in her head – which sounded suspiciously like her mother – that it could be a dangerous game to play.)

* * *

Though they barely saw each other before, it seemed that they now crossed path almost every day. Every single time they accidentally met; Cat would smirk at Kara. At first Kara’s cheek would flame with embarrassment, endlessly amusing Cat because really it should be the other way around. But as the weeks passed, Kara’s reaction changed. Her cheeks no longer flamed from embarrassment but rather from anger, if the accompanying glare Cat received was anything to go by. Cat could see it, Kara steadily growing angrier with each passing day. Kara, however, never said anything. Not since their second encounter. All her anger was conveyed through looks that could kill and tensed shoulders, as if she was desperately trying to keep a tight control on her emotions. Something that, again, clashed with Kara’s appearance and the way she presented herself to the world. No, that Cat cared, she kept repeating to herself. All of this was just a game. A game she was playing for her own personal amusement. Cat would have been perfectly fine living in perfect denial until Lois decided to give her unwanted opinion.

“What’s up with you ?” Lois asked her. They were having lunch in one of the empty offices, two floors down from their regular floor, a habit they’d set early after they started working at the Daily Planet.

“What do you mean?”

“Please Cat, I’ve known you long enough to know when something’s going on with you. You’ve been distracted and you keep zoning out like something… or someone else has caught your interest. You’re like…”

Cat rolled her eyes. “A cat spotting its prey?”

Lois shrugged in a “You said it, not me” manner.

“I’m just saying you’ve been less bitchy to me and I’m wondering why. Don’t tell me it’s those guys you pick when we go out.”

It was Cat’s turn to shrug. “They’re convenient.”

In more ways than one, but she didn’t tell Lois that. Lois didn’t need to know about her little game with her neighbor. She’d probably scold Cat or worse see right through her.

“But we both know the reason you’re sleeping with them is because your mother is a witch can’t handle you being b-,” Loid said, too softly for Cat’s liking, before backing off when Cat shot her a warning look. “Look, we don’t have to talk about it but don’t insult me by lying to me.”

Cat chose to answer and Lois, true to her words, didn’t push the matter further. Her words, however stuck with Cat, leading to the quiet realization that her reasons for bringing those guys home had shifted and she was now solely trying to get a rise out of Kara. As messed up as that was.

* * *

She was doing it on purpose – so was the conclusion Kara had reached. Confronting Cat had done nothing to help her. Cat wasn’t more mindful. In fact, as of now a couple of weeks, it had actually become worse and the only reason Kara was still functioning was because she needed less sleep than humans.

Today was another long day. She’d picked up an extra shift, and the minute she walked into her bedroom, ready to sleep for 10 hours, she knew she wasn’t going to get any sleep. Kara felt the frustration bubble up as the noise from the other side of the wall echoed in her bedroom. It wasn’t until she smelled something burning that she realized she was glaring a little bit too intently at her wall.

“Shit!” She hadn’t lost control of her powers like that in a long time and the two smoldering spots on her wall were a sure sign of how that this situation couldn’t go any longer unless she wanted to put everything she had worked for in jeopardy.

* * *

The following morning, Kara was waiting in the hallway waiting for Cat, foot tapping nervously on the floor. All nervousness faded away, however, when Cat sauntered out of her apartment. 

“Keira,” she said when she spotted her waiting by her door. “You look tired.”

“You know what I don’t understand,” Kara replied, approaching Cat. “Why are you doing this ?”

“Doing what exactly ?”

“Being so rude. I might not have asked you to keep the noise down the most polite way but frankly you deserved it. Yet instead of doing what any respectful person would do, it seemz you’ve made it your goal to make my life miserable.”

“My sex life has nothing to do with you.”

“Right, so why do you keep smirking at me every time our path cross if you aren’t doing this on purpose?” The anger Kara was letting out was ugly and she couldn’t stop herself, weeks of frustration coming to the surface. “you get a kick out of being rude, is that it ? Or are you so miserable yourself and that’s why you enjoy making other people miserable too. Whatever it is, I’m literally tired of your little game. You wouldn’t strike me at the asshole type but I guess I’m not so good at judging people.”

By the time she was finished ranting, Kara was breathing heavily. She was so furious that it took her a second to see that Cat had blanched and was now throwing at Kara the same look Kara had been giving her for the past few weeks.

“You don’t know a thing about me,” Cat hissed and Kara winced at the vitriol in her tone. She searched Cat’s face and for a second the anger there slipped, letting Kara see that she was hurt. Deeply.

Kara’s own anger turned to concern but before she could even think about what to say, Cat had disappeared down the stairs. Kara sighed. She didn’t think she could forget the look on Cat’s face. It didn’t matter that Cat had been an asshole first. If Cat felt as hurt as Kara thought she did, Kara needed to apologize. Fast. However, she doubted Cat would ever want to see her face, let alone let Kara speak to her.

It was Martha who ended up giving her advice.

“What’s on your mind, Kara?” she asked that night on the phone.

“Nothing,” Kara answered. “Why do you ask ?”

“I don’t think Clark noticed, he was too excited to speak to you,” Martha continued. “And you might try very hard to keep us at a distance, but I’ve known you for some time now and I like to think that I can tell when something is wrong with you.”

Martha’s word weren’t accusing but Kara felt the guilt all the same, though that particular set of emotions wasn’t to be unpacked today or anytime soon. She trusted them with Clark and that had to be enough. Still, the guilt made her give in to Martha, who was after all willing to listen and help.

“The way I see it, you’ve started off the wrong foot,” Martha said once Kara was done explaining. “Maybe it’s time for a truce.”

“Martha, if you’d seen her face…I don’t think she’s going to even let me apologize.”

“Give her – and yourself – a few days to cool off. Then reach out.”

“And if it doesn’t work?”

“Well, at least you’ll have tried."

* * *

Kara took Martha’s advice and the next couple passed at an excruciatingly slow pace. She also noticed that the nights were now eerily quiet, not a single noise to be heard through the wall. Finally, three days after their stand-off in the hallway, Kara gathered up her courage and knocked on Cat’s door.

“Cat?” she asked when no one answered. “It’s – hum – it’s Kara, your neighbor. Can we talk?”

When the door still didn’t open, Kara sighed. She knew Cat was there, had waited specifically until she’d heard the tell tale slam of the door. She could look, she thought. It would be so easy, just a tiny slip of her glasses down her nose, and she could at least check that Cat was okay. But for someone who already knew too much about Cat’s private life, this felt like it would too much of a breach of privacy.

Knowing she wouldn’t ger to sleep easily tonight, she decided to go up to the roof. It was a clear night and she’d be able to look at the stars, wallowing in her own hurt, trying to imagine a world where Krypton had somehow survived.

The air was starting to feel a bit chilly – for human standards anyway – but still she grabbed a blanket on the way out of the window, liking the feeling of safety it provided when wrapped tightly around herself.

As she reached the top of the fire escape, she almost tumbled when she noticed the roof was already occupied by the one person she’d been looking for.

“Oh,” Kara said dumbly. “You’re there.”

“Your powers of observation are impeccable.”

“I – it’s just no one’s usually up there.”

“Oh I’m sorry, am I taking your spot?”

Kara almost started to argue but stopped herself at the last second. She had no intention of fighting tonight. “I was surprised, that’s all.” She sat down next to Cat. “It’s a nice spot and there’s more than enough room for the both of us.”

Cat watched her surprised but didn’t move away. They sat in silence for a few minutes before Kara spoke up.

“I was actually looking for you. Knocked on your door and all. Thought you were so angry with me, you wouldn’t even open the door.”

“What did I do this time ? Leave my umbrella in the hallway and you tripped on it and now you wanted to harass me about it.”

Kara rolled her eyes. “Please, my request wasn’t unreasonable in the first place and I think we both know that.” Cat tilte her head and Kara took it as a sign that she could continue without Cat ripping her head off. “That said I was out of line the other day. You’re right I don’t know you that well – or at all really. I should have known better. There’s always more than meets the eye.”

Cat tensed beside her and Kara feared she’d once again said too much.

“Anyway, I am sorry,” Kara added quickly. The silence stretched once more between them, the only sound being the cold October wind blowing soflty and the buzzing sounds of cars on the street.

“I hate heights,” Cat confessed, surprising Kara.

“Then why are you here?”

“Like you said, it’s a nice spot.” Kara didn’t question her further, she knew what Cat meant. She’d spent a lot of time up there, thinking, when it felt like her apartment was suffocating her. “I owe you an apology too. I was a bitch to you.”

Kara snorted. “You don’t say.”

You could at least pretend I wasn’t that bad,” Cat huffed;

“Uh no,” Kara said with a laugh. “The first time we met you called me Keira, insulted my wardrobe, and then proceeded to ignore my request – which we’ve already established was a reasonable one. How were you even not sleep deprived yourself ? I mean honestly, I was looking all bleary eyed and here you were looking all put together.”

“Sleep is for slackers.”

“Well, you sound like fun,” Kara said. But her tone was light, letting Cat know that she was joking.

They stared at the night sky together, the tension between them, now completely dissipated. Kara felt more than saw shiver running through Cat’s body. She saw no other blanket around.

“Here,” she said as she opened up her arms. “You’re going to freeze to death.”

“I’m not cuddling with you.”

Kara glared at her. “Do you have to be so difficult all the time? We’re not cuddling,” Kara said and Cat looked at her skeptically. “Really. Besides, you weren’t shy about about sharing your private life with me so don’t tell me you’re shy about sharing a blanket.”

“Fine.”

Kara smiled at Cat, a smile that widened when Cat returned it with a small upturn of her lips. 

* * *

_A few months later..._

They were laying in bed, both still breathing heavily, and Kara was still a little dazed when she felt Cat’s gaze on her. Facing her, she saw her grinning.

“What?” she asksed.

“I’m thinking it’s a good thing we’re each other’s next door neighbor.”

“Why?”

Cat leaned in to kiss her, long and languid only pulling back when Kara moaned.

“Darling I hate to break this to you, but you’re loud too.”

**Author's Note:**

> If ever find the motivation I might revisit this universe and write about some stuff leading up to that last scene.  
> To be honest I knew I wanted this scene in but writing everything that lead up to it would have taken me forever. Also I am notoriously bad at multi chapters.


End file.
